Tag: story

Age of Wonders, Issue 6c: An Unveiling

On By MagicJMSIn Age of Wonders, Fantasy Fiction, Superhero Fiction1 Comment
art by Roland Brown (drawhaus.com)

Kami Misaki followed the two City Watch guards through the winding stone corridors of the Keep. One of her arms stretched slightly out of proportion to allow her to carry a large wooden trunk tucked into an armpit. As a result, she walked less gracefully than usual. It wasn’t the weight of the trunk—which, she thought idly, would have taken both guards to carry—but the bulk of it under one arm made navigating the narrow Keep hallways awkward. Kami supposed that she could have asked someone to “help” her, but at the moment she was enjoying the stunned stares of everyone they passed. In many ways, her walk from the Golden Heron to the Keep, with her changes on full display, was her unveiling.

Eventually, they reached a heavy wooden door. One of the guards knocked, listened to a muffled reply, and opened the door. The City Watch had to move into the office to allow Kami and her trunk access, and they all did a clumsy dance of polite apologies as she entered and they exited, closing the door behind them.

“Good morning! What’s in the that thing, my dear?” Inspector Estancia Calenta asked with a dimpled grin. The stout woman leaned back in her office chair, the wood creaking, and folded calloused hands on the desk between her and Kami.

“Everything I own,” Kami shrugged, and placed the trunk down in one corner before making her way to a chair. She looked at the Inspector through her wooden half-mask, far less warily than she had during her first visit to this place… when had that been? Had it only been last week?

“Ah,” Calenta’s face took on a motherly concern. “Elyn kicked you out of the Heron, then?”

“It was a mutual agreement,” Kami shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve been absent and not helping her, and my presence now, she thought, would make the guests uneasy. Meanwhile, I find myself… focused elsewhere.”

“Focused Elsewhere,” the woman chuckled. “Speaking of which, where are the others?”

“On their way,” Kami said simply. “They should be here soon.”

“Good, good. Well, my dear,” Calenta leaned forward, resting her meaty forearms on the edge of the desk. “No need to wait for them to get started. So,” her eyes glittered. “Where is the box?”

Kami leaned back, folding her hands in her lap. “Emah says it’s called the Raft of the Nine Gates, actually. She has it, hidden and locked away. She says that there are those at the university who she’d like to study it, but that it’s not something anyone else can ever touch. It’s too dangerous, we all agree.”

“You believe her story? About the vision she had? Deals with demons?” Calenta looked skeptical, cocking an eyebrow.

Kami sighed, the first breath she’d taken since entering the Keep, she realized. “Given everything that’s been happening across the city and everything that happened in that basement, I don’t see any reason to question Emah’s account. To me and Maly, she touched the hand, and then…” Kami’s eyes unfocused as she recalled the scene, still so vivid in her mind. She frowned. “Well. When it was done, the demons vanished in a flash of golden light and the Raft was closed at Emah’s feet. She saved us all.”

“Poor, poor dear,” Calenta clucked her tongue. “How is she?”

“Fine, actually. She says the poison from the spined demon would have killed her before we ever left the basement, but the power that the Raft imbued in her must have cleansed it. I’ve only known her a week, mind you, but I’ve never seen her better. Despite the… lack of hand and sword.”

“You said her hand is in the box. The, er… Raft. You never found the sword?”

Kami pursed her lips and shook her head. “Another reason to believe her. Like so much happening these days, it all feels impossible.”

The inspector shook her head in disbelief. “It’s all happened so fast, ah? So many changes we must all accept. I heard someone in the market call it the Age of Wonders. It fits, no?”

“It does,” Kami gave a brief nod. “I like that, actually.”

“And look at you! Any changes besides the hair that you’ve noticed?”

Kami pulled a lock of her straight hair into her view. When the golden light from the Raft faded in the basement, it had left her hair bright green, the color of springtime leaves. There were other, subtler changes as well, but there was no hiding the hair. Though she felt less antagonistic toward Inspector Calenta than before, she still didn’t trust the woman. So, Kami said only, “Just the hair.”

“What do you think it means?” the woman asked, but it was a rhetorical question. Kami didn’t answer, and the inspector didn’t wait for her to do so. Instead, after a heartbeat, Calenta said, “And the ratfolk?”

Kami crossed her arms over her chest. “Either Emah saved them as well—though they’ll never know it—or the priest’s failure with the Raft focused the demons solely on them. Either way, I suspect we won’t hear from them again. Even if they survived, it was the priest, Maly says, that was stirring them up against Oakton. Now that she and her mad quest for the Raft are dead, well… I don’t believe they want to have anything more to do with us than we with them.”

“Still,” Calenta scowled. “The idea of underground tunnels, accessing wherever they like…”

“We’re not exterminators,” Kami said forcefully. “We’re here to protect, not kill.”

The inspector raised her meaty palms in defense. “Okay, okay! I’ll have someone else look into it, ah? You don’t have to think of them anymore. Truly, my dear, I’m just glad that you’ve decided to formalize our relationship. We need you.”

Before Kami could respond, there was a knock on the door. Inspector Calenta yelled to enter, and one of the same City Watch guards who’d led Kami here opened the door. He stepped aside quickly, and Maly, Destiny, and Emah flowed inside, one by one.

Maly and Destiny looked much the same, despite the golden flash of the Raft. She was still a lithe, pale Stone Islander with freckled cheeks and tattooed arms, her blonde hair cut short. He was still an enormous, deadly predator, a black cat whose shoulders reached Maly’s thighs, all grace and power. Destiny had, apparently, abruptly awoken soon after the situation in the basement had resolved, which only deepened the mystery of the Raft’s power and the cat’s origins.

The girl smiled at Kami and slid into the chair next to her. Destiny prowled, each step heavy and intentional, to the window and lay down beneath it. His yellow eyes watched Inspector Calenta intently.

Emah, of course, was not the same. She was still a powerfully built Kalee woman, with chocolate skin and eyes, her coily hair pulled back from a high forehead. She still wore a leather breastplate, tasseled skirt, and heavy boots. Yet Emah wore only one green glove, on her left hand. The other arm ended in a stump at the wrist, bandaged and dark with blood. Her ancestral sword no longer hung at her waist.

Despite her losses, Emah carried herself confidently, chin held high and broad shoulders back as she entered. She gave Inspector Calenta a nod, then smiled warmly at Kami. Instead of taking the third chair, she stood between Kami and Maly, feet set wide.

“You two have caught up?” Emah asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Not fully, but enough, dear. Thank you for asking,” Inspector Calenta flashed her dimples. Then her face took on that same look of maternal concern. “How are you, Emah?”

The warrior didn’t answer for a moment, as if unsure how to do so. Finally, she shrugged and said, “Well enough, I suppose. It’s been quite a week.”

Maly snorted and Calenta barked a sharp laugh. Kami kept her face impassive—she wasn’t sure she could be moved to genuine laughter and envied those whose emotions came freely—but inside she admired Emah’s acceptance of her choice within the Raft, and all it cost her. Would she have been able to make the same decision, Kami wondered, had it been her who’d touched the hand? And what could she have possibly offered that was as precious to her as Emah’s swordsmanship? They were all lucky it had been noble Emah Elmhill who’d negotiated for the city’s safety with the spirit of Salo Jaena.

In her reverie, she realized she had tuned out the conversation within the room. She blinked and focused on the present.

“Well, that’s certainly more than we’re making from the Adventurer’s Guild,” Maly said somewhat sourly. “But not a lot more.”

“I assure you, it’s more than most in the City Watch make, and all we can afford, ah?” Calenta said in response.

“The wages are fine,” Emah said, closing the topic. “But what about accommodation?”

“Ah, well… if the memories are not spoiled for you, I thought perhaps Sami Suttar’s place? He had no family, so the property is the city’s to claim.”

Kami looked from Emah to Maly and back. Maly looked surprised, Emah pleased. Kami supposed her own masked face was unreadable, though she tried to provide a subtle nod. The three of them seemed to reach silent agreement and turned back to the inspector.

“Fine,” Emah said.

“Good, good,” Calenta clapped her hands together. “I’ll have it all written into a new contract, and I’ll speak to the Adventurer’s Guild so no one is surprised. I must say, dearies, that I’m relieved to have you on our side, ah?”

“One final item,” Kami said. Three human faces and a feline one turned to her, startled.

“Yes, dear?” Calenta asked, studying her cautiously.

“We have right of refusal on what missions you offer. I won’t trade one brothel for another. You tell us why you need us, and we decide whether we will help or not. And I want that written into the contracts.” Kami said the words smoothly and clearly, without inflection. She studied the inspector as carefully as she’d just been inspected. The two met eyes and an uncomfortable silence reigned for several heartbeats.

“Fine, my dear. Just fine,” the woman smiled disarmingly. “But it means I’ll change the wages to be bounty-based instead of weekly wages. We won’t pay you to do nothing for Oakton.”

“Kami…” Emah said warily.

“Fine,” Kami nodded. She looked at Emah and smiled. “I’m confident, Ms. Elmhill, that we will have plenty to do based on recent events.”

“It’s a risk,” the other woman whispered. “We do need money.”

“We do,” Kami agreed. “Though I have some thoughts about that as well.” Her eyes drifted to Maly, sitting in the chair next to her.

The young woman widened her eyes, realizing suddenly that both Kami and Emah were staring at her. “Wait, what? Why are you looking at me?”

“Say,” Calenta added smoothy, tapping on her desk with a finger. She flicked her attention to Kami. “What happened to the East Bay Dragons boy you all captured? From your account, I thought he was wounded and unconscious when you all went down to the basement?”

“He was,” Kami added, just as smoothly. Her face remained neutral. “Whoever he was, he must have been deceiving us about the extent of his injuries. When we went upstairs, Destiny was awake, and the man was gone. The panther said he had not seen him.” She shrugged.

The inspector clucked her tongue and turned to Emah. “Didn’t you run him through with your sword? How could he have run away so soon after your battle?”

Kami waited, hopeful. Emah met Calenta’s gaze and said simply, “I did and don’t know, ma’am. Another mystery from the week, I suppose.”

The woman sighed heavily and pushed herself to stand with a groan. “Well, alright. We’ll look into that, too, then. I will get the contracts to you, ah? For now, get some rest in your new home. We’ll talk soon.”

Kami and Maly stood, and the panther climbed slowly to its feet to join them. Kami stretched her arm down to collect her unwieldy trunk.

“Hey,” Maly said as they began exiting. “What are we calling this group of ours? Do we have an official name?”

“I hadn’t thought about it, dear, but you’re right. Do you have an idea?” Calenta smiled and sat back at her desk.

“The Wonder Force!” Maly said brightly.

“Not the Wonder Force,” Emah grunted with a scowl, almost as soon as she’d said it.

“Come on, Emah! What don’t you like about—”

“Absolutely no,” Emah growled dangerously.

“Well, let’s have a think about it, ah?” Calenta nodded. “Rest up, dearies. I’m sure we’ll talk sooner than later.”

The door closed. Kami strode without speaking down the hallway, trunk tucked beneath one arm. Behind her Emah and Maly continued to bicker about their group’s name. Destiny stalked at Maly’s heels, yellow eyes scanning and startling anyone they passed.

When they exited the Keep, the great tree stretching above them, cracks of blue sky visible beyond the branches. Kami couldn’t help but feel the air crackling with something monumental. People all around them pointed and stared, whispering in awe.

Kami allowed herself a small grin behind her mask, her feet angling towards their new home.

Next: Reflections on Issues 1 through 6!

Age of Wonders, Issue 3c: Temple of the Rat God [with game notes]

On By MagicJMSIn Age of Wonders, Fantasy Fiction, Superhero Fiction, Superhero Gaming, Tabletop Roleplaying2 Comments
art by Roland Brown (drawhaus.com)

Kami’s first thought upon glimpsing the scene beyond the curtain was that all her companions were soon going to die. Even, she suspected, the great cat Destiny. Probably not Kami herself, because she was not certain she could die any longer. Yet all the rest were doomed.

Alone, the primitive, stunted ratfolk were not particularly dangerous, much like rats themselves. Yet, also like commonplace rats, it seemed they were rarely alone.

The group had moved warily and quietly through a tunnel, following Destiny’s lead, to where the panther said the ratfolk were gathered. They’d reached a wide opening, blocked by not one but two tattered blankets arrayed side by side. Though so far Emah’s torch had been their only light in the underground warrens, surprisingly light flickered from behind the edges of the cloth. Not only light, though… Beyond the doorway they could hear the chittering and squeaking of what sounded like dozens of ratfolk. Perhaps more. The smell here was almost overpowering as well, like wet animals and feces crawling into her nose and down her throat. She stopped breathing, something she only recently realized she could do. The implications of not needing to breathe unnerved her, but it was—like so many other events from recent weeks—something left contemplated for a later time.

As they pushed the cloth gently aside, the group was confronted by an enormous chamber, perhaps fifty or more strides across and deep, and half that high. The walls of the place were packed hard, almost sculpted, and great wooden scaffolding was arrayed to support the ceiling and walls. Four wooden pillars, severed tree trunks with carved markings of some kind across their entire length, stood sentinel from floor to ceiling, giving the place the feeling of a temple or grand amphitheater. It was difficult to tell whether the ratfolk horde had found this place and built their warren around it, or whether this vast space had been their most ambitious work. Either way, it was an impressive gathering hall, especially so deep below the surface.

Against the wall to their left sat a raised, earthen dais, and atop it was a large wooden carving like the one they’d seen in the ratfolk bedchamber: A naked man with the head and tail of a rat. The statue stood fully twice as high as Kami, roughly hewn but impressive still in its menace and power. At the statue’s base stood a ratfolk in tattered robes, waving its furred and clawed hands rhythmically as it chittered. Two torches had been thrust into the earth on either side of the robed creature. Between them, at the ratfolk’s feet, sat the bejeweled box Kami had seen in Sami Suttar’s home. The torchlight caused the gems and gold to glitter hypnotically, casting dancing shadows all around the vast chamber.

Filling the chamber from the base of the dais throughout the rest of the room was a horde of ratfolk, arms raised and chittering in unison with the figure on the stage. A handful of other robed figures stood swaying closest the dais, and behind them amassed creatures like the ones they’d fought and killed several times the past day—each the size of a child, hunched and furred, with rat-like heads and beady eyes, claws tipping their long fingers and toes. They wore stained scraps of clothing, none alike. Finally, littered at the perimeter of the crowd, were several of the more hulking creatures like the one that had tackled Maly outside of the jail the previous day. Everything about these other ratfolk was stronger, larger, and more savage, almost like comparing a wolf to a domesticated dog. Unlike everyone else in the room, these rat-brutes prowled the crowd, black eyes overlooking their shorter brethren and scanning the chamber.

In all, it was a dizzying and overwhelming scene. Kami would not have been surprised to discover that a hundred in all of the creatures were in this chamber, this temple to some rat god far below Oakton. She could not even begin to fathom what it all meant, or what ritual or rite the robed priest atop the dais was performing. Kami wondered, in a brief flicker, what lay in the opened bejeweled box that she could not see, and why these primitive creatures had been so willing to die to obtain it.

Then she had no time to consider anything but survival.

If Kami hadn’t fumbled her attempt to deal with the sentries in the last installment, the party would have had some time to formulate a plan against this bizarre and bonkers scene. Instead, the ratfolk looked briefly for the intruders and, not finding them, doubled their guard during this sacred ritual. So, unfortunately, for Kami and her companions, they now must react instead of plan.

First, let’s get organized. In the chamber there are roughly 60 ratfolk worshippers that I’ll arrange into 10 mobs of 6 each, and each with a 10 Fight score. I’ll say there are 6 total lieutenants with the same stats as the one they fought outside the jail way back in Issue 1b: Physique 12 Prowess 12 Alertness 14 Psyche 10. There are also 4 new types of lieutenants, ratfolk priests: Physique 9 Prowess 10 Alertness 14 Psyche 15 with a “spell” that acts like Psychic Attack.

The ratfolk up on stage is a Rank 1 Villain, who I’ll call Tatter, the High Priest. Time to make another NPC!

Origin: I’m pretty open to who this high priest is, so let’s just roll on my variant tables and see what happens. I roll 85 or 58, which is either a non-powered Spy/Assassin/Thief/Guide or a Wyrding – Power Endowment. The latter makes more sense to me. This is a ratfolk that was granted otherworldly power by the recent Wyrding and thus became the high priest of this society.

In this specific scene, I’m not too worried about Tatter’s history vis a vis the ICONS Origins tool, but I’ll do a couple of rolls here. Tatter is female, relatively young, social ratfolk who values herself and her friends more than anything else. Okay, interesting… so she’s a bit like a “child avatar,” a normal ratfolk teenager equivalent who was granted power and thrust into the role of high priest. I don’t know if that will matter in the story, but it’s fun.

Powers: As a Rank 1 character, Tatter gets 3 Power rolls. They are:

Roll 1: 33, which is choose or invent my own!

Roll 2: 41 or 14, which is Flight, Armor, Psychic Sense, Emotion Control, Fire Mastery, Energy Blast, Detective or Acrobat.

Roll 3: 21 or 12, which is Energy Blast, Armor, Mind Control, Emotion Control, Energy Blast, Alchemist, or Acrobat.

The ones that most stood out to me given Tatter’s role and station were Mind Control and Emotion Control, so I’m going to focus my attention there. I’ll use the first and third role for Mind Control with an Improvement: Collective Mind Control. She can basically make people (and even crowds with a united purpose, like the ratfolk horde) do what she wants. I’ll use the second roll, then, for Emotion Control. I’ll say that she can induce emotions with the same parameters as her Mind Control powers.

Attributes & Motivation: As a Rank 1 Villain, she gets 10 Attribute points to spend, same as our PCs. I’ll give her the array of Physique 10, Prowess 10, Alertness 14, Psyche 16. This also means that her Vitality is 30 (Physique x3). Motivation-wise, I’m not going to overthink this and just call her a Leader. Why are the ratfolk doing all this stuff from the previous installments? The answer seems to be because Tatter is making them do it. This also means that taking Tatter out will dramatically change the crowd’s attitudes.

Here’s Tatter’s character sheet:

Okay, despite the fumble I’m not crazy enough to kick off a combat with all these forces at once. Instead, I’m going to say that the room is focused on Tatter and her ritual, and only the closest guards will sense the PCs and act against them. For now, I’ll say that’s 1 brute-lieutenant and 1 mob of 6 ratfolk. The savage brute will attack, and the mob will use their action to alert more of the audience. At the end of each turn, I’ll make an Alertness roll to see if Tatter notices what’s happening (at which point all hell will break loose).

Initiative-wise, then, we have for Round 1:

  • Maly (Alertness 15)
  • Brute Lieutenant 1 (14)
  • Kami & Emah (each 13)
  • Destiny (12)
  • Ratfolk mob 1 (10)

The party absolutely does not have to make this an epic, large brawl, and fleeing is absolutely an option. Let’s see how this goes…

Maly will get instruction from Destiny (what’s the plan? Stay tuned!) and try and move before the action really begins. She’ll roll Prowess against the first mob, but not to attack and instead to move through them. With her Prowess of 13 and the mob’s Fight of 10, that’s a 65% chance of success. She rolls 58 and makes her way into the crowd. I’ll say one more success next round and she can be at the dais relatively unmolested.

The brute lieutenant has a choice between attacking Emah and Kami. I roll odds and it’s Emah. With her sword, Emah can defend melee attacks with a Prowess of 20 versus the brute’s score of 12. That’s a 90% chance of success and she rolls 15, parrying the attack easily.

Now’s the big decision: Do Emah and Kami run or fight or do something else? Hm. Let’s bust out the Mythic GM Emulator and insert some randomness into the action! Normally I’d do this for NPCs but I am curious how this might play with my PCs. I’ll roll twice on the Character Actions table: I get “Normal” and “Messy.” That leads me to believe that they’ll follow their normal tendencies, which for Emah will be to stay and fight for her friend and for Kami is to end the mission (which means exterminating the ratfolk) and free herself of her contract. For both, this will certainly get messy.

I’ll roll attacks for Emah (80% chance to hit the brute: 58. Hit and killed!), Kami (50% to hit the mob: 11. Critical hit! I’ll say she not only does her 30 damage, crushing half of the rats in one go, but manages to do so quickly and quietly), and Destiny (60% versus the mob: 13. Hit! 17 damage).

The first ratfolk mob only has 2 members left, one very injured. And, because of Kami’s crit, I’ll say the action doesn’t alert nearby lieutenants and mobs. The party might get some time to plan, after all! The only obstacle is Tatter, who gets an Alertness roll to see if she spots the activity in the back of the temple on her own, since she’s the only one facing them. I’ll give it a Hard difficulty in Round 1, dropping in difficulty each round. With her Alertness of 14, that’s a 45% chance: I roll 01. Oh boy. She definitely notices. Yikes.

The nearest large, savage ratfolk whipped its head towards them as they gathered beyond the curtained doorway. Then, with a snarl, it leapt at Emah. The Kaleen warrior raised her sword in a flash, intercepting the attack and sidestepping. Meanwhile, the ratfolk nearest them turned away from the chanting upon the dais and began chittering excitedly, pointing and moving closer to them.

“What!?” Maly whispered harshly, though no one had spoken. Kami guessed that the woman was once again having a one-sided conversation with the great, black cat. “You’re crazy! Okay. Okay! Just… Keep them safe and I’ll be back!”

Then, to Kami’s shock and horror, the pale-skinned woman dove into the onrushing crowd, tumbling and disappearing within the horde.

She had no time to ask what the fool mercenary was thinking or to help. Instead, at the speed of thought her arms lengthened wide. Like a mother embracing her oncoming children, Kami’s arms enfolded three of the nearest creatures, then closed tight. She could feel their small, furred bodies crack in her grip. They shrieked and shuddered briefly before falling still, and Kami dropped them to the dirt floor.

Near her, Emah pulled a blood-slicked blade from the side of the hulking ratfolk that had been grappling with her, its body now lifeless. The panther Destiny was savaging two of the smaller creatures, one already dead in its jaws and another squirming weakly beneath its claws.

That was fast, Kami thought proudly. The other ratfolk near them had their backs turned still, swaying and chittering and focused on the dais. Perhaps we can all survive this room, after all. If we can stay silent back here, we can make a plan. But… where is Maly?

Her eyes scanned the crowd, amazed that she could miss the Stone Islander amidst a sea of small, furred ratfolk. Kami thought that perhaps she spied a jostle of movement in the weak, flickering light, rats chittering in surprise as they were pushed aside. But before she could be sure, the robed figure on the dais stopped its swaying. Its dark, beady eyes focused on the back of the crowd, where Kami, Emah and the panther stood, and pointed a clawed finger. More loudly than it had been chanting, the figure chittered something defiant and sharp.

The entire crowd turned as one to regard them.

“Well… shit,” Emah gulped.

Next: Issue 3 Reflections!

Age of Wonders, Issue 3a: The Roar of Destiny

On By MagicJMSIn Age of Wonders, Fantasy Fiction, Superhero Fiction1 Comment
art by Roland Brown (drawhaus.com)

Maly’s elation at Destiny’s arrival was cut short when two ratfolk jumped atop Sergeant Mewa, one upon a shoulder with a shard of glass and another at his waist with a crude stake. As Mewa grunted, they plunged their weapons into him again and again in the span of a heartbeat, chittering madly as they did so. The City Watchman gurgled and slumped to the floor of the landing as their companions swarmed up the stairs, flowing around Maly and into the breach of wall made my Kami earlier in the battle.

She glanced at the staircase, hearing the roar of the panther as it pounced upon the fleeing ratfolk.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Maly panted, spinning a dagger in each hand. She extended her tattooed arms to either side as mangy rat-people ran past her like a stinking river of furry bodies. One of her blades sliced across a creature’s neck and another cut across ribs. Both ratfolk squealed, and suddenly a pair of them flashed claws in the dim light. Maly danced to avoid one strike and ducked another. Despite the madness of the situation—fighting primal, inhuman creatures she would have thought a children’s story, with an enormous black cat as her companion who spoke in her mind, while a woman with impossible strength fought a glowing-eyed man in a full suit of bronze armor—Maly grinned. Her endless training was serving her well.

Stay focused! the cat roared in her mind. Destiny had reached the top of the staircase. It shook a lifeless rat in its jaws while raking claws across another’s back, and Maly once again marveled at the creature. It resembled a house cat, its coat sleek and black, but was the size of a large hunting dog, its shoulders to Maly’s waist. The great cat called itself a “panther,” which Maly thought described it as well as anything – a new word for a new kind of beast. Intelligent yellow eyes stared back at her. Continue ripping the small toys, the panther growled in her mind. I’ve got the big one.

As it loped past her into the room with Emah and Kami, she heard a thunderous CLANG! followed by a grunt of satisfaction from Kami. “Come on!” the woman yelled, seemingly taunting the figure in the armor. At least, Maly thought, it sounded like that part of the fight was going well. Her eyes glanced to Sergeant Mewa, laying lifeless near her feet, and the other two Watch members, their forms still and bloody. Better than this part, at least.

Then she spun the daggers again in her grip, leaping after the swarm of rats.

The ratfolk weren’t interested in staying to fight her, it seemed. She slashed with her knife, eliciting a screech from one of them as she nicked its long, ropy tail. But then the tide of furry bodies had disappeared into the jagged hole left by Kami’s flight through the air. She still couldn’t believe that the armored guy had punched her through a wall, or that she had stood up and continued fighting. Whatever Kami was, it was something extraordinary. As extraordinary, she supposed, as every other weird happening from today.

Maly hesitated for a moment, wondering what to do. Should she pursue the rats into that other room or help Emah and Destiny? Then she shook her head. Despite the panther’s instruction, that was no choice at all. She ran into the room with her friends.

The warrior in the full suit of bronze armor was now battered, with one shoulder malformed as if it had been hit by a battering ram. The person’s eyes in the helm still glowed an eerie blue in the fading light, however, and as soon as she entered the room an apprehension clenched at her gut. The armored figure turned between Emah, who looked as if she could barely stand and was clutching at her side, and Kami, trying to defend himself against both attackers.

Maly stopped for a moment, stunned at her recent employer. The Kaizukan woman’s torso and arms had elongated, like pulling gooey sap from a tree, and her fists had grown to twice their original size. Even as she watched, the armored warrior threw a gauntleted punch at Kami and her misshapen body moved to avoid it easily. It was like the man was battling mist, or perhaps trying to strike a dangling rope in the wind. Kami flowed and moved her body in impossible ways, looming with those large hands. Indeed, Maly realized now that the enormous dent in the armor’s shoulder was from one of Kami’s oversized fists. The woman was clearly not a trained fighter, but she was displaying the same freakish strength that had bent iron bars in the jail this morning. If she could land a hit, she could do tremendous damage.

Destiny broke Maly from her thoughts as he roared at the three combatants before him. Kami and Emah looked wide-eyed at the great, black cat, its mouth open to reveal white teeth like daggers. Yet it was the armored warrior’s response that was most shocking; the blue light in the eye sockets flared in response to the roar and it reeled back, as if struck in the helmet. The warrior tipped and fell back from the unseen strike, and when it landed to the floor, the armor burst apart. Grieves, gauntlets, pauldrons… Maly didn’t know all the names of the parts of armored suits, but they all crashed and clattered in different directions, empty. It was as if the man wearing the armor had vanished with Destiny’s roar, leaving only the bronze armor behind. A helmet rolled Maly’s way, almost lazily, amidst the cacophony. It stopped a stride from her feet, eye sockets empty and dark.

“What did you do?!” Maly gasped at the great cat. In her mind, she heard a huff of satisfaction. “Where did you send him?”

The panther’s yellow eyes regarded her evenly. There was no “him.” The enchantment on the armor is gone. He sighed, and Maly could hear it like someone sitting on her shoulder with lips against her ear. It’s too bad. Nothing soft to tear and rip like the little dirty toys.

“The rats!” Maly yelled, and without thinking dashed back into the landing, daggers ready. She looked around wildly in the fading light, but there were only the three dead City Watch members and a scattering of small, furred bodies. Blood spattered everywhere, and Maly’s stomach lurched.

You’re too late, child. The toys have fled.

“Wh—what?” she panted, holding her bile at bay. She stumbled back into the room, where Kami remained distorted, her large fists raised, as she stared at Destiny.

“Maly!” she barked. “What is this?”

“Oh!” Maly said and sheathed her daggers. “It’s okay! This is Destiny. My friend.”

We are not friends, the panther rumbled. I am your instrument of vengeance.

“I’m not saying that,” Maly mumbled sidelong.

“Your… friend?” Emah wheezed, and then swayed. The woman’s sword clattered to the floor as she collapsed.

“Emah!” Maly cried.

Emah groaned and cracked open her eyes, then winced and raised a hand to shield her face from a beam of sunlight.

“There she is!” Maly smiled brightly. “Welcome back to the world.”

Emah blinked and looked around woozily. “Where are we?” she croaked, her voice a dry whisper. Maly passed her a waterskin and Emah took it, sipping gratefully. As she swallowed, she visibly winced.

“Easy,” Maly cautioned. “You may have some broken ribs. It’s tough to tell because of all the intense bruising across half your side.”

“Where?” Emah persisted, and Maly glanced around. Her friend lay in a large poster bed set against a wall, its drapes drawn shut but illuminated by sunlight beyond. A fireplace filled with ancient ashes and charred wood was across room against the far wall. A wardrobe, towering like an escarpment, stood against another wall. The place smelled of dust and old linens.

“Ah, yeah. We’re still in the house. It’s morning. We moved you to the bedroom on the second floor. It’s musty and old, but otherwise pretty nice I guess,” Maly shrugged a bare shoulder. She had been up most of the night and stifled a yawn. “Inspector Calenta and her people cleared out most of the bodies. A couple of them are guarding the downstairs with Kami. Except Calenta left because Kami kept insulting her.”

Emah sighed and closed her eyes. “I remember the man in the armor, and then… a huge cat? What happened.”

Heat rushed to Maly’s cheeks. “His name is Destiny. He’s my… I don’t know. We met a few days ago. I’ve been trying to tell you, but we never really had any time to talk.”

The woman’s eyes opened. She grinned. “You met a giant cat and named it Destiny?”

“I didn’t name him!” Maly threw up her hands in exasperation. “That’s just what he calls himself.”

“Calls himself,” Emah frowned. “Is that who you’ve been talking to? The giant cat? Oh honey…”

“I’m not crazy,” Maly snapped. “Here, Destiny,” she turned and Emah’s eyes followed to see the panther sitting outstretched against a wall, light dappling its black fur from the window. Its yellow eyes looked back at them. Maly saw Emah stiffen. “I know you only talk to me, but, uh… I don’t know. Do something to show I’m not crazy. Come lay a paw on Emah’s leg or something.”

You do not command me, child, the great cat said in her mind, and within the room he grumbled with a low growl.

“Fine, fine!” Maly snapped. “He’s moody. But,” she held up a warning finger to Emah. “I’m not crazy. He does talk to me.”

Emah’s eyes never left the great cat. She licked her lips. “Okay…” she breathed cautiously. “Maly, what’s happening? The way Kami’s body moves. Her strength. The armored warrior with the glowing eyes. All these… ratfolk. And you’re talking to a giant cat. Maybe I’m the one losing my wits.”

“If you are, we all are. Inspector Calenta says that wild things are happening all across Oakton. The City Watch can’t keep up, and the stuff you described is just part of it. She seems really stressed. Oh! But she did bring our contracts. I signed for you.” Maly smiled. “So at least we’re getting paid in this child’s tale of a city.”

“Thanks,” Emah grunted. “But what does it all mean? Why are these things happening? It all sounds like the Age of Immortals again.”

“Heh, like I know? I don’t think the gods are back, Emah. But you’re the scholar, not me. I’m just glad you’re alive. Now that I know you’re okay, Destiny, Kami, and I are going after the rats. Kami said there was some sort of bejeweled box in that room she crashed into. It must have been what the rats were after from the beginning because it’s gone now. We think the dead ones on the stairs were trying to get past the armor to the other room, but when we started fighting it they used the distraction to go into the hole in the wall Kami made and take the box away. They were gone before we realized it.”

“But…” Emah frowned. “Why? What was in the box? And where did they go?”

“Destiny says their scent goes down to the basement,” Maly sighed. “So I guess we’re going down there to find out the answers to all of those questions. You rest and heal. We’ll be back once we’ve taken a look.”

Emah threw off her blanket. Beneath it she was shirtless, with bandages wrapped around her midsection. “Like hell,” she said. The Kaleen woman winced again and grunted with pain. “I’m coming with you.”

“What?” Maly blurted. “You can’t be serious.”

“By the gods, Maly. Shut up and just help me with my shirt and breastplate, will you? We’ve already let them get too large a head start.”

Oh, I like this one. Destiny rumbled.

Next: Into the darkness!